he gone.

pretty nice haul. I'd like to see some defensive minded pieces in return for the rest of our guys. We are building the early 2000's white sox out there. just going to mash the ball and play little defense. But I mostly like the direction of this team and was hoping for a trade with the cubs. I do wish that one of the two guys we got on the back half at least had a glimmer of hope to make the majors, but whatevs.

Lot's of excitement on the board. I would caution the realistic part of the fan to take a step back and evaluate these picks ... Fulmer was our next ace when we drafted him a few years ago. The likelihood is that he'll be a 4-5 starter for a few years before transitioning into a bullpen piece. Burger sounds good on the surface as do a lot of these picks but things fall apart. The Sox best case scenario is to be a team like the Cardinals and I Think that's a possibility. I like that we're drafting baseball players, not just athleticism. If you look at sustained success you need to hit on 2-3 superstars and then supplement them with good baseball players. We'll have Moncada (hopefully) as our secured superstar. Abreu is solid for a DH for the next 3-4 years. No we fill in. The important picks won't be rounds 1-3 they will be rounds 7-20. That's where you find organizational depth that gets you through injuries and pushes everybody in the system to be better. Realistically out of Call, Fisher, Basabe, Sheets, Burger, etc. etc. only one or two will be regulars in the lineup. Others will be utility players and others will have a cup of coffee in the league.

Quite honestly? None. We probably had the same conversation about Saladino last year. He was hitting well, playing the game right and we said we could see him as a player on this team for years to come. Now that guy is Sanchez? None of these guys are the answer to a championship team. The only way is if they are the ONLY one weak link on a good team. Sanchez has no power. His ceiling is a UTIL player for a 3-4 year period. Same as Saladino. Davidson will be batting .215 by the end of the year. Will probably hit 25 homers, but he strikes out a ton. Leury is in the same boat -- UTIL player at best. He doesn't have the power he's been showing. If you have one on your team moving forward it probably turns out to be Garcia as he can play the OF too. They're all the type of players that will be out of the league in 3-4 years.

If I'm the Astros I'm holding steady. The have McHugh coming back around ASB - that's like acquiring a SP in a trade in a sense. Also don't forget Martes. He has potential - probably this year to take a RP role. His control has been an issue, but he has nasty stuff. Also Musgrove is a candidate for improvement. He's got the stuff and if you look at his historical stats he'll find it. Just walking a lot and letting up an odd number of HR's for him. The only way if I'm the Astros that I go out and acquire someone is if (when) McCullers throws out his arm throwing his curve balls. Other than that they have the depth to keep pitching very decently and cruise into the playoffs. We all know the playoffs are a crapshoot anyways - the best team doesn't usually even win. Say they trade for Q and he s***s the bed in 2 of his playoff starts? If I'm the Astros I'm staying put and just selling off a few of my AAA assets (White, Reed, Hernandez, Kemp, etc.) for bullpen help. I see them much more going after a guy like Nate Jones or Robertson than an elite SP. I can also see them adding someone like a Miguel Gonzalez. But I don't think they're going to sell the farm.

I thought the interview with me went well. Good interview. He comes off as a guy who a) who doesn't take life too seriously and b) as someone who still would name drop Frank Thomas or Griffey to get special status into somewhere. Not saying I wouldn't name drop too, but you can tell he was probably pretty immature back when he was a kid with the Sox. It's too bad he wasn't more focused with the Sox and couldn't have a longer career. Even with a .250 batting average and 15HR a year he could have had a 2-3 year career as a starter and then 3-5 more as a backup. A lot of lost money. I enjoyed his stories though. On advice on the Podcast? I've been a Barstool reader and listener for sometime -you guys have gotten better over the weeks, but still seem to talk over each other a bit much. Also wouldn't mind more segments focusing on: The minor leagues Have better prepared questions - less about who could drink more beer, more on baseball -but I get the brand -half comedy, half sports. If I think of more ideas I'll let you know.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Apr 17, 2017 -> 09:43 AM) Teams wont change their impression of Q after a few games, but also last offseason was sell-high. We're not back at sell-high til we actually get there. If negotiation was tough this past offseason, then right now it's further buried in problems all the more. Til something changes either about Q's results or a suitor's situation. If the price this offseason was indeed an all time high then Hahn would have pulled the trigger. It obviously was not what he wanted/expected and therefore he is still on the team. There is the chance that the Sox don't get back to the level of what was offered to them this offseason but only FO types will ever know that. It's speculation. I trust Hahn that he held onto Q knowing his leverage would probably be more moving forward. I for one am not in the boat to trade him for the sake of trading him. WAit until the offer we receive fits what we NEED and want to move this team forward. Think about the Swihart rumors and message board trades we all pushed for. Trading for the sake of trading based on a fake imposed deadline isn't always feasible or the smartest route. Again, maybe this offseason was a good time to trade Q. But if it wasn't what Hahn wanted in return we have to trust that and wait for another time. Maybe it's even next offseason. Who knows.

QUOTE (FT35 @ Apr 17, 2017 -> 08:11 AM) Did you all see that Madison Bumgarner is 0-2 this year? I don't think he's the competitor we all thought he was. His team's in last place--he just lost to the Rockies AT HOME in a key divisional battle--and served up a homer to Trevor Story of all people. His team gave him 2 runs of support in his last 2 starts (both losses) and I think he's just given up hope that he can be good anymore. He really has nothing to play for and currently has ZERO trade value so the Giants are stuck with him. He's also 0 for his last 5 at the plate with 0 HR's so apparently he doesn't know how to hit either. He's just not a competitor anymore. The Giants should have traded him after he won that World Series--that's when his value was at its highest. They would have been able to get Gleyber Torres for him--I just KNOW it. Ugh. This. GM's aren't changing their idea of what Quintana is after 3 games. They have 100+ games of tape and info on him. It's a waiting game. Eventually some team will a pitcher get hurt and need Q. Some team will be hot to start the season and make a push for him. Or a team we've been talking about will pull the trigger. Rather than get all squirrely just enjoy the games he pitches like we did with Sale.

Probably has to do with a huge Quintana trade. (That was a joke)

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Apr 11, 2017 -> 12:38 PM) I agree. That is a talented bunch and I kinda felt like they might hold off and see how guys are doing or if anyone is hurt before trading off 4-5 guys from their farm. That's completely understandable in my opinion. I agree. Don't forget they have Chris Devenski and Martes who although maybe can't be stretched out for an extended playoff run this year are very, very capable pitchers. Same goes with Musgroves. The problem with the Astros is that they'll need a lot to go there way - but hey, didn't the Royals do that for a few years in a row? I can see the Astros bolstering their bullpen with trades of likes of Tony Kemp, etc. but I don't think they'll mortgage their future for Q. I mean looking at their rotation.. Keuchel, McHugh, McCullers, Morton, Musgrove, Fiers, Devenski, Martes So if you're talking about getting through a year I think they'll be fine, even with an injury or two. That's 8 pitchers for 5 spots.

To each their own ... It just seems like a whole heck of lot of energy and anger put into an April day game/August upper deck corner -- and only for the reason being "out of principle" I agree with you that with where they stand in the MLB they should probably go out of their way to make the fans that do come out feel welcome and special - I also think season ticket holders (I've been for many years) could give two s***s about someone getting a replacement upper deck pass.. In the end of the day my only thoughts are this: 1 - dude, don't get so worked up. It's a 60 win Sox team. 2 - Sox should care more about their existing fans that are sticking with them right now and should probably get creative with ticketing/marketing ideas 3- The Sox don't need to care. Look at the Padres, Marlins, etc. etc. etc. These owners make money regardless. The difference between 15 and 17,000 fans a game isn't a huge deal to them. They follow the money. So they are focusing on other areas.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Apr 5, 2017 -> 02:19 PM) This is the response I sent John, Thanks for the response. Speaking frankly, this is a bit frustrating. This package was marketed to fans as a value deal of a group of games. I realize things happen with April weather, but I believe it's disingenuous for the White Sox to walk back on the good faith value of 11 games for a refunded portion of a miniscule amount of money and 10 remaining games (maybe 9 now if tomorrow's weather is bad as well). The true value of this campaign is to get butts in seats in a down year, in my opinion, and I believe the White Sox always make a lot of money on concessions per fan, more than the value of the ticket that will go unsold. I would say that refunding $3.54 does nothing for the White Sox or me, but even a free upper reserved ticket in July gets me to a game, gets me to buy hot dogs, candy, beer and whatever else - and gets me to cheer on the squad. We both know this is a rebuilding year for this team, and that there are going to be dog games in July and August against not-popular teams where the organization will struggle at the gate - why give me $3.54 for each of two tickets back when the team could make $50 in concessions for giving ballpark passers the opportunity to exchange for an upper reserved ticket to a handful of organization-picked games? Sincerely, ***** Not to be a dick here ... but you are complaining about being refunded $3.54 cents ... for a baseball game .... in 2017. You can't even get a BigMac for that price nowadays. And then you go on to say you'd buy $50 of concessions --- so its zero about the money then ... although you reference "value" If you are willing to pay for $50 in concessions you really don't care about value. Take the $3.50 and buy a $6 ticket off stubhub anytime throughout the year. Me thinks you're looking for a reason to be upset. Just enjoy the 10 games you get for the price of one half of a single Cubs ticket.....

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Apr 5, 2017 -> 08:40 AM) Straight doubleheader on May 26. Anyone with tickets to today's game can exchange their tickets for any tickets of equal or lesser value, they are not automatically valid for the doubleheader on May 26. Saw that.. Sox are on to people like me. I was going to buy tickets on StubHub for real good seats knowing this game was going to be postponed and made up when it was warm and sunny out. I was hoping to get some Scout Seats for like $100-125 or maybe just seats right behind the dugout for like $15-20. Good thing I didn't. I'm sure the Sox would have worked with me to get another games Scout Seats however. Not a bad idea for tomorrows game either .............

Sorry to say this but so many of you guys are SOOOOOOO cheap. Sh&t happens. You lose 20 bucks on parking sometimes. From the sounds of it some of you would only be happy if they offered you up a date with the latest Playboy centerfold as a repayment for yesterday's rainout, lol. Life isn't fair at times. Today is a new day and a White Sox winner. Edit: Does Playboy have centerfolds anymore? I digress... Also this post? Bad, bad post. It made me cringe. I have been fortunate enough where I make a good living ... but if I did go yesterday with the wife it would have cost me a) a day off b) her day off c) $250 for two tickets d) Probably $75-100 in food and beer while we waited e) $20 in parking f) another two days off work for both of us today if I wanted to make the trip... plus more beer and food.... Add it up and the time value of money? We're talking $400 + 4 days off .... even with paid vacation those days are worth something. I'm calling the whole two days worth like $1,000. And for this reason? I call that a terribly ignorant post.

It was handled poorly. My thoughts are this: a) many people knew that the window was small and the weather didn't look good. Call that game the night before or very early morning and people don't waste a day in the cold/dampness b) the ticket exchange thing is garbage. we're going to average like 19,000 this year. 14,000 of those will show each game. Excluding certain games is silly and poor taste. Listen, SoxTalk are some of the most rabid Sox fans out there. I spend at least 10 mins on this site each day in January even. I had no interest in going to yesterdays game. So the ones that WERE there?? Those are your lifeblood. Treat them like it. Don't cheap out and tell them that their $100 ticket they wont likely to be able to use today is only worth an A's/Sox game later this year...... c) If I'm defending the Sox, they were probably trying their hardest to get the game in to keep those die hards happy who did take the day off.. I just think although their intentions were probably in the right place that most of us probably could tell that game wasn't getting in d) It's PR and fan relationship mess. You took your most die hard fans and gave them a miserable experience with no updates or heads up at all. I'd assume 90% of the fans there yesterday left with a bad taste in their mouth. As the Sox probably one shining moment of the year... not good.

You know what is wild? Jacob May will be able to tell his grandchildren that he was an Opening Day Starter in the MLB.. crazy times. Were like make a wish.

They should have either postponed this game yesterday night/this morning or try their hardest to get it in today. Can't do the middle. I think their mindset is a lot of people take off and schedule around opening day so they try to get it in. And I get it. But the last thing you want is to do all this and then paly 3 innings and have to play to an empty stadium tomorrow.

I'm not sure Beer is a #1 pick ... typically College 1B/OF don't go #1 overall. Happens very rarely. I like the hype around this guy, just not sure if we finish poorly we dont' have a shot at #3 or 4

I for one could care less about a full stadium unless they are going to act like that's the reason they can't and won't sign a Manny Machado or other big name come FA time. (as they always do around trade deadline) Sure it's a bit more fun to watch a game and cheer with 30,000 people. However it's very understated that I can go to the bathroom, get a beer, a polish and sit back down at my seat and miss just one at bat. At the end of that inning? I can get back up, move down 20 rows and 10 sections and try a different vantage point. Fill my world with as much Cubby blue and bandwagon fans if it means I can watch every game for $6+ stubhub fees from wherever I want to. At the end of the day JR pockets are still getting fat, just not as fat, and I'm enjoying the game for a lot less $$.

I'd be interested in bringing him back in some capacity with the orignization. Whether that be as an announcer, as minor league coach, as a bench coach, etc. If it weren't for Ventura failing I'd really even be beating the drum for him as a chance as a future manager. But I think it'd be smart to let him learn the trade over a few years first. I think he'll thrive in his role with Fox though, should be interesting.

Nationals rumored to be signing Matt Weiters. I don't keep up a ton with the Nationals backstop situation -- but let's say it's a 3-4 year deal does that open the opportunity to go after Severino? I think that's the name of that minor league catcher were talking about on here. Maybe it's a precursor move? I'd guess only if it was 3-4 year deal though. If it's a 1 year deal probably doesn't mean anything.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Feb 9, 2017 -> 08:05 AM) I don't understand why they need to speed up the game at all. It's fine the way it is. If people have short attention spans, then don't watch the game. No need to ruin it for everyone else. It's not for you and I, its for the future generations that don't have the attention spans. And frankly, it probably has to be done. I don't like this suggestion, but would want to speed the game up. You either adapt or you die. I'm sure there was some rule that was put in place in 1900 that people complained would ruin the game forever and it didn't. They aren't going to shorten commercials as this is revenue, so if they really want to speed up the game it will be between pitches and visits to mounds and challenges, etc. Point is? I love baseball and the pace, etc. but everybody has a busy life and I don't think many will argue that watching a Buehrle game wasn't always better. A two and half hour game was always the best.

I don't want to beat a dead horse here and I know we're on our 10th dead horse, but the Astros make too much sense. It's a lot of posturing, but if the OWNER says to do something then the GM will most likely listen. We already know what the Astros are saying is a lie because it was leaked about the Archer deal. I can totally see a package of prospects going from the Astros to the Rays or Sox. We shall see. In other news, how boring is it when there's little excitement for baseball?? I'll be following the minors more than the majors this year. Weird.

Just to give some perspective.. Adam Eaton batted about .255 over his first 400AB with 7 SB and 5HR Tilson is not Eaton. I know we all want baseball to start, but lets be realistic. Hitting .250 and a dozen stolen bases is probably very realistic. And probably on a good year.

Not expecting much out of him. If that line hits I'll be ecstatic. I'll say .245/.302 and with a few dingers and maybe 15 stolen bases. He's a 4 OF traded for Zach Duke -- can't say I expect a ton out of him. Best case scenario in my mind is he serves a purpose over the next 2 years in our lineup and then is a 4OF for another few years.

Baseball in general, and the Sox have reached a pretty large low in the trading fronts ... or maybe that's just my take. I thought by now we'd hear a lot more not just on Q but all the other pieces. I know we don't have to trade them all at once and maybe even a Robertson or Frazier is better to wait on to hopefully build more value, but man is this slow. Leave it to the Sox to do a half assed tear down like they did a half ass run at the playoffs.